The disappearing Italy and its cold, demographic winter
Opinion pieceThe Silence of the Villages There is a sound that is growing increasingly rare across vast areas of the Italian peninsula: the chatter of children leaving school and their laughter while playing all afternoon in that small park amongst the flats and houses. From the ridges of the Apennines to the valleys of the Alps,
The Liminal Threshold: Negotiating Comfort and Control at the Global Hub
Opinion pieceWhenever we transition to a new phase or domain, we inevitably encounter a boundary. This boundary, where two distinct realities meet, inherently implies negotiation and competition. A night spent at Istanbul Airport revealed a continuous, silent negotiation unfolding within the stillness. Ultimately, this threshold—where individual desire clashes with systemic control—defines the core dilemma of our
The Power of Communication in Science: Lessons from the MSCL
Authors . City life . Climate Change . Culture . Excursions . Germany . Health . Media . Opinion piece . Research@IfKW . Science . UncategorizedSometimes, learning doesn’t happen in a lab or on a field trip it happens in a classroom, when someone manages to connect science to real life. That’s exactly what happened during our session with Bernhard Goodwin, executive director of the Munich Science Communication Lab (MSCL). I’ll admit, before that day I had never heard of
The far reaches of Journalism in a German landscape
City life . Culture . Germany . Media . Media influence . Opinion piece . Politics . SocietyBy Ollie Standen Media, in general, is defined as “the means of communication, such as radio and television, newspapers, magazines, and the internet, that reach or influence people widely” (Dictionary.com, 2018). Journalism, as a major branch of the media, plays a crucial role in informing and educating the public through these various channels. From a
Journalism: the Sleeping Giant
Culture . Germany . Media . Opinion pieceThis semester’s “Media Institutions in Munich” seminar has been more than just a series of visits; it’s been a profound immersion, offering a clear view into the beating heart of Bavarian news. From the innovation of Media School Bayern to the political views of Süddeutsche Zeitung and the local emphasis of Münchner Merkur, each stop
From Goosebumps to Broadcasts: My Reflections on Science and Media Communication
Authors . Germany . Media . Media influence . Opinion piece . SocietyAs someone who’s always been curious about how messages shape minds, these past few weeks have been a turning point for me. Our guest visits in the room from Munich Science Communication Lab (MSCL) and Media School Munich weren’t just field trips, they were invitations into two very different worlds that both revolve around the same question:How do
SZ’s reach within the German landscape
City life . Climate Change . Culture . Germany . Media . Opinion pieceBy Ollie Standen The Suddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) is a Bavarian based newspaper founded in 1945 and is one of the largest newspapers in Germany. The tonality of the newspaper shifts towards a centre-left, liberal stance on politics and views, with readers being typically more educated fitting the A, B and C1 readership demographic. Media organisations
Bridging information and education: what Media Bayern and the Munich Science Communication Lab teach us
Media . Media influence . Opinion piece . ScienceOver the past weeks, I had the opportunity to become familiar with two very different organisations: the Munich Science Communication Lab (MSCL) and Media Bayern. Both are dedicated to strengthening public knowledge, but in fundamentally different ways: one through science education, the other through media literacy. The MSCL was particularly interesting to me because it challenges the cliché of science
Media Narratives in Contrast
City life . Culture . Germany . Media . Opinion piece . Politics . SocietyBy Ollie Standen Throughout the past two week, the group visited the TZ/Merkur and the SZ media organisations to see how the paper and online media world functioned in Germany. Both papers cover international, national and regional news stories with reports being printed on the daily or updated every minute on their websites. The TZ/Merkur
New Semester, New possibilities
Authors . City life . Germany . Opinion piece . Society . Student lifeBy Ollie Standen (Photo by Ollie Standen) My name is Ollie, I am from a little village in the South East of England called Hildenborough. No one really knows where Hildenborough is so I always say I am South of London. I have been in Munich for two semesters now on an exchange programme thanks